The invention relates broadly to a baking pan and, more particularly relates to baking pan and cooling rack in combination.
Baking sheets, baking pans, baking trays (hereinafter “baking pans”) and cooling racks used for cooling baked goods (“cooling racks”) are known for use in commercial, institutional and home settings. In many cases, baking pans and cooling racks are formed as rigid, planar bodies from ceramic and/or metals. Appropriate metals include black, carbon or stainless steel, aluminum, anodized aluminum, cast iron, titanium, etc. Metal baking pans are generally formed by cutting and stamping sheets of the various metals. Baking pans are available in a variety of sizes, shapes and metal thicknesses and, generally include side edges or lips arising out of a horizontal plane of the sheet, vertically or substantially vertically. Known baking pans also typically include a handle, for example, in the form of one or more extended side panels functioning as a handle.
Leaving baked goods in a hot baking pan or baking sheet after removal from an oven is not recommended as heat from the hot pan or sheet can affect the baked goods (post-baking). For example, heat from the hot pan or sheet continues to “cook” the baked goods for a time after oven removal. Also, steam generated by the oven-heated baked goods inside the hot pan frequently causes the bottom of baked goods to be soggy if left to sit on the pan surface after oven removal. Removing the baked goods to a cooling rack allows the air to circulate, which stops the cooking process and prevents sticky bottoms. A good rule to follow is that, after removing a conventional baking pan from an oven, the baked goods should remain in or on the conventional sheet or pan for no more than ten (10) minutes, otherwise the baked goods will likely stick to the pan surface. And again, to remedy this problem, the heated or cooked baking products (e.g., tollhouse cookies), are physically removed from the conventional baking pan and placed on a conventional cooling rack.
Like baking pans, cooling racks are made from known metals, generally metal wires formed as a frame structure. Cooling racks typically include an upper wire “surface” raised above a base portion of the cooling rack in order to facilitate air flow around the separate baked items comprising the baked goods once the baked goods are removed from the baking pan and placed on the upper surface to cool. But removal of baked goods from a baking pan to a cooling rack frequently results in damage to the baked goods (e.g., broken cookies, damaged cakes, muffins, etc.), which renders the baked goods unpalatable. Not only are the baked goods likely to break or crumble when handled to remove them from the conventional baking pan but placement of the hot baked goods on the surface of the cooling tray also is likely to result in breakage.